A 51-year-old homeless man near Ala Moana died Wednesday, hours before Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he’s “not giving up” his effort to reduce homelessness on Oahu.

Caldwell expressed his determination to get homeless people off the streets and into housing at a press conference. This comes after an annual nationwide homeless census, the Point in Time Count, released preliminary data Wednesday for Oahu in January.

“If you remain on the street, your chance of getting into permanent housing are much, much less,” Caldwell said. “Those who are resistant to go into some form of shelter is something that’s not acceptable to all of us here at the City and County Honolulu.”

Police said the 51-year-old man was found unresponsive at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and Emergency Medical Services personnel could not revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was last seen alive at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Marc Alexander, executive director of the city’s Office of Housing, joined Caldwell and added that almost 70 homeless on the streets and in shelters died last year.

In an efforts to combat homelessness, Caldwell asked for more help from the Department of Health, the private sector and the community. In fact, he asked community members to “think twice” before giving a homeless person food, medical supplies or a tent.

“It’s enabling them to stay on our streets where it’s not safe,” Caldwell said. “It may appear compassionate in the moment, but it is not compassionate in the long run.”

The rest of the homeless census for other islands won’t be coming out until later on, according to Caldwell.